San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy’s status as one of the NFL’s most polarizing players has always been odd.
Purdy seems like the ultimate underdog every football fan could root for, given that he has transformed himself from the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft to a bonafide NFL superstar.
Besides maybe Seattle Seahawks and Iowa Hawkeye fans, it seems everyone would be rooting for Purdy. But instead, he constantly gets discredited for his success.
The latest prominent example came in an article called, “Overrated or Underrated? Making Cases for Jalen Hurts, NFL’s Most Polarizing Players” by longtime NFL writer Brad Gagnon.
Gagnon joined the band of doubters, suggesting that Purdy is a system QB just like all of his detractors claim that he is.
“Purdy appeared to be exposed as his rate-based numbers sank dramatically with less support as a result of injuries to his supporting cast in 2024,” Gagnon wrote. “It’s also possible the league has begun to figure out a seventh-round pick who lacks the arm strength and velocity to become a consistent superstar and is also prone to untimely mistakes. The 49ers might regret that big new contract.”
Gagnon was especially critical of Purdy’s passer rating in the fourth quarter of one-score games, which is very average at 70.8. Gagnon used this figure to claim Purdy hasn’t been clutch.
The Purdy Double Standard
The hypocrisy in Gagnon’s argument is that, on one hand, he credits Purdy’s success to his offensive system. In his article, he mentions that Purdy’s stats fell after many 49ers offensive stars like Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams, Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason were injured. Because Purdy didn’t maintain his elite numbers, Gagnon claims, Purdy was “exposed”.
But on the other hand, Gagnon fails to give “the system” credit for Purdy’s failures as well. If Purdy lives and dies by sticking to Shannahan’s offensive system, wouldn’t the offensive system be to blame for some of his failures as well?
Purdy’s fourth quarter numbers, seen as his biggest detractor, are actually a great example of a system and playcalling problem. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is a notoriously bad playcaller in clutch situations.
The 49ers are 0-43 when trailing by 8 or more points in the fourth quarter under Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is also famous for blowing leads late in big games, including two Super Bowls.
The 49ers failures to be clutch in recent years clearly go past Purdy. If Purdy is a “system QB”, then his fourth quarter woes should be credited to the system, just like his successes in quarters 1-3 are.
But analysts always fail to explore both sides of their Purdy claims.
The Case for Purdy as an Elite QB
Gagnon did give Purdy credit for one thing in his article: his air yards per attempt.
“He led all qualified passers with 4.9 air yards per pass attempt in 2024, so his highest-in-NFL-history (min. 1,000 attempts) passer rating of 104.9 can’t be based solely on scheme and YAC,” Gagnon wrote.
Recent criticism of Purdy has gotten louder after the 49ers went 6-11 in 2024 (6-9 with Purdy starting), a clear failure for a team expected to be Super Bowl contenders. These people seem to think it’s impossible for a quarterback to be good and a football team still lose. Team success has also become the barometer for quarterback success.
Which is silly considering Matthew Stafford’s career with the Detroit Lions. Stafford was an elite quarterback in Detroit. He’s the franchise’s passing leader with over 45,000 yards.
He went 74-90-1 in his career in Detroit. The Lions never made it past the wild card round. Detroit has also been much more successful under Jared Goff. But nobody gives Stafford a bad time for that because it’s clear his team was not good.
The 49ers were not good in 2024 as a team. Every key offensive player except George Kittle and Jauan Jennings was injured or regressed, and the 49ers defense took a step back in several ways. They were particularly bad in the clutch, ranking at the bottom of the league in scoring defense and red zone defense.
Sure, Purdy wasn’t perfect, but he’s a young and still improving quarterback who can’t do it all. Yes, he needs a supporting cast, but football is a team sport. Everybody does. Even a guy like Tom Brady.
What do you think, 49ers fans? Are you tired of all the doubt Brock Purdy faces?
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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